By Karen Lightman, Managing Director, MEMS Industry Group The keynote address at last year’s MEMS Executive Congress Europe stated: "MEMS is only limited by the imagination." MEMS Industry Group (MIG) took that sentiment to heart, and organized a 2013 EU Congress chock full of interesting keynotes, panels, dialogue, and camaraderie. We invited some of the top European companies using and commercializing MEMS to share their insight and imagination on the…
SEMI-MEMS & Sensors Industry Group
Questions and answers on FD-SOI
A month or so ago, we implemented (without much fanfare) the ability to comment and rank articles on this site, and more easily use social media tools. I’d like to call your attention to one interesting exchange, and also invite you to start posting comments of your own. In mid-December, we posted an article titled “STMicro: 28nm FD-SOI is ready for manufacturing” which elicited an interesting comment and response. The…
MEMS is happening in Vegas baby, and it’s coming home with you, too
By Karen Lightman, managing director, MEMS Industry Group Everyone knows the famous refrain, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." But for MEMS, you’ll want what happens in Vegas to come home with you. Why? Because MEMS at CES has gone waaaaay beyond sensing your touch and letting you play Angry Birds. MEMS Industry Group (MIG) is going back for a second year to International CES — because MEMS is…
Present your ideas at The ConFab in 2013
The ConFab is now accepting abstract submissions for our 2013 conference, to be held June 23-26 in Las Vegas. If you’re an executive at a leading semiconductor manufacturer and would like to present at The ConFab and participate in three days of productive meetings and roundtable discussions, we’d like to hear from you! We’re presently recruiting speakers for the following topics: • Economic outlook of the semiconductor and related industries…
Preview of the MEMS Technology Showcase at MEMS Executive Congress US 2012
If I must tell the truth, the genesis of MEMS Technology Showcase began (as many great ideas do) at a bar over beers, the closing night of MEMS Executive Congress 2010. I was talking with Bryan Hoadley of Movea, who had just spoken on the MEMS in Consumer panel. He and I talked about what the MEMS industry needs — a way to show how cool the MEMS inside is…
Preview of our fabulous keynotes at MEMS Executive Congress US 2012
by Karen Lightman, managing director, MEMS Industry Group Recently I was talking with a MIG member about what was unique about this year’s Congress. I actually surprised myself when I instantly blurted out, "the keynotes!" Normally, I would talk about how cool the MEMS Technology Showcase is (and it is — really, it is!) And you’ll soon hear about it in an upcoming story/blog). But honestly, when I answer from…
Preview of MEMS in consumer products panel at MEMS Executive Congress US 2012
By Karen Lightman, managing director, MEMS Industry Group I remember the first time we had a panel on consumer MEMS products at the MEMS Executive Congress. It was November 2006: Marlene Bourne was our moderator and our panelists were: Frank Melzer (CEO of the newly formed Bosch Sensortec); Benedetto Vigna (back then his title was MEMS business unit director, STMicroelectronics); Mark Martin’s predecessor, Bill Giudice, vice president and general manager,…
MEMS in medical, quality-of-life panel at US MEMS Executive Congress US 2012
For those of you who have heard me talk about MEMS and medical/quality-of-life (QoL) applications — I don’t shy away from calling it “God’s work.” I still get misty-eyed when I think about my friend’s 10-year-old daughter, Anna, who has Type 1 Diabetes. Last year I told Anna about technology from MicroCHIPS that (thanks to the wonders of MEMS) will someday enable her to seamlessly and automatically monitor and dose…
MEMS in medical, quality-of-life panel at MEMS Executive Congress US 2012
For those of you who have heard me talk about MEMS and medical/quality-of-life (QoL) applications — I don’t shy away from calling it “God’s work.” I still get misty-eyed when I think about my friend’s 10-year-old daughter, Anna, who has Type 1 Diabetes. Last year I told Anna about technology from MicroCHIPS that (thanks to the wonders of MEMS) will someday enable her to seamlessly and automatically monitor and dose…
MEMS Product Development Challenges – Sweet Dreams and Nightmares
MEMS product development is not for the faint of heart. Though you will see many success stories in the industry, you will also see many failed ventures (did anyone say “telecom bubble?”), several bankruptcies (TeraVicta to name one), gray hair (or no hair), and divorces (sad, but true). And then there are the companies that are just middling along, waiting to break through – we have a duty to help…
